Out with the old and in with the new! It’s that time of year again when we resolve to change or improve ourselves and our lives in some way, shape or form. Some will vow to lose weight, get fit or save money but few people will think about the little things you can do that may improve your home life dramatically! Whether you call it spring cleaning, decluttering or clearing out, it is the perfect way to remedy the January blues and make your home look and feel fresh and clean. January can be an austere time of year and while you might be tight on cash, something which you probably have plenty of…is time.

 

Recently I organised my walls by taking many of my photographs in single frames and grouping them together in large collage style frames. The sharpness of the lines on the walls instantly tidied and transformed the room and there are many ways to declutter your home so I have provided you with some helpful tips below: I promise you will not be disappointed when it is all done and dusted – literally!

 

1. Start! I know this seems like an obvious request but we often put off things like this as it seems daunting and time consuming but decide on a date and stick to it

2. Set a time deadline, otherwise you may find that you have spent a lot of time procrastinating

3. Target one area at a time. Setting out to declutter your entire home in a single morning is unrealistic. Taking one room at a time is a much more realistic and achievable approach

4. Enlist help! Ask your family or whomever you live with to help you with this task otherwise you can end up in the bad books for innocently dumping objects of importance to someone else. Involving the entire household makes people more aware of the clutter they are creating and they will therefore be reluctant to it build up in future

5. Be ruthless. Sifting through piles of sentimental pieces can take time. But be realistic and try to remember the last time you went looking for, or even found such items – it was probably the last time you did a clear out!

6. Give to charity. As the old saying goes, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” so make sure to give away useful items to charity shops. Clothes, appliances and books are particularity useful and most charitable organisations are only too happy to take these items from you

7. Invest in storage items such as boxes, filing cabinets and shelving systems as they are great ways for sorting and storing important documents and bills

8. Resist the temptation of putting things you ‘think’ you may use in the future in a temporary spot until you decide. Ask yourself whether you need and want to keep it. If you hesitate, the answer is no!

9. When you buy something new, even furniture, practise the “in-out” rule whereby for every new item you introduce to your home, you dispose of an old item

10. Switching to paperless billing is a great way of helping the environment and eliminating a build up of unnecessary bills in your home. Most of our bills are available online, so we don’t need it on paper too!

 

Voila! Enjoy your clutter-free home and don’t be afraid to enhance it. Sometimes when we remove all the clutter, we discover our décor is a bit boring so be brave and try out a feature wall, colourful accessories or even funky furniture! Crown have a gorgeous new shade from their 2012 Spring Summer Influences called Free Love Vintage and it would make for a stunning bedroom or living room feature wall.

 

If the spring clean has left you craving a blanker canvas to work with, then why not consider painting your walls a neutral shade. Wheatgrass from Crown’s Solo One Coat would be a gorgeous base colour for the walls of any living room, dining room or kitchen. You can continue the fresh and modern theme by painting skirting boards, ceilings and cornices in Pure Brilliant White. Another shade worth considering is White Light from Crown’s Ultimate range. This milky white shade could be the perfect canvas for your newly decluttered home and will leave you with plenty of room to show your personality through accessories and soft furnishings.

 

Painting is a really economical way of freshening up your home and every time I do, whether it’s my entire home, a single wall or even my banisters, I wonder why I didn’t do it sooner – it always makes such a huge difference! Crown have an extensive range of shades and emulsions to suit your entire home needs and more importantly, to make painting easy. You can pick up colour cards and testers in your local Crown Paints store and a list of stockists can be found here

 

Happy New Year!

 

Neville